Automobile c-type chute side-bar pedal and production processes of the same

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an automobile C-type chute side-bar pedal comprising a load-bearing member and an anti-slide member mounted onto an upper surface of the load-bearing member, wherein a cross section of the load-bearing member is a downwardly opened C-type structure which is formed into a curved face structure integrally, and two inner sides of the load-bearing member are provided with a slide rail which is an upwardly opened C-type chute structure; further comprising a slide block located within the load-bearing member and provided with a recess which may slide along the slide rail, wherein a lower end of the slide block is provided with a mounting member connected with a car; and two end portions of the load-bearing member are provided with a sealing structure fixed from the inner side of the load-bearing member. Further, a production processes of the automobile C-type chute side-bar pedal is provided.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Chinese Application No.201410134377.6 filed Apr. 3, 2014 and entitled “Automobile C-Type ChuteSide-Bar Pedal and Production Processes of the Same”, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to automobile accessory part technologies,and more particularly to an automobile C-type chute side-bar pedal andproduction processes of the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A side bar pedal as an automobile accessory part provides steppingassistance when people get on or off. With the continuous development ofthe automobile industry, the side bar pedal as an automobile accessorypart also demands to continuously develop new technologies to meet theneeds of the market.

Now, the side bar pedal more commonly used in the market is a stainlesssteel tube type, the production processes of which are as follows:

-   -   1) a metal band being used as a stainless steel material of the        load-bearing member, which is formed into a tubular shape by a        tube making machine;    -   2) welding a slot formed in the tubular body, and grinding a        welding line;    -   3) performing a first time cutting to the steel tube;    -   4) performing a second time cutting to the steel tube;    -   5) manual processing mounting holes and screw holes of the        connecting piece;    -   6) welding two end sealings of the steel tube and grinding the        welding line;    -   7) inspecting quality;    -   8) manual polishing (polished by sand→polished by linen→polished        by cloth wheel);    -   9) inspecting polishing quality;    -   10) mounting a connecting rivet nut;    -   11) mounting a plastic anti-slide plate; and    -   12) packaging a finished product.

However, such processes may have the following problems:

-   -   1) the exhaust gas and the waste water produced during the        processes of profiling, welding and grinding welding line        pollute the environment seriously;

2) since each type of the side bar pedals is dedicated for only onevehicle model which results in a poor versatility, the side bar pedalmodels are various which results in high production management, storageand transportation costs, and is also easy to cause productoverstocking;

-   -   3) a welding process is employed for the slot of the tube and        the sealings at two ends of the stainless steel tube, and the        welding portion needs to be polished smoothly before welding,        thus increasing the processing and time costs;    -   4) since the tubular load-bearing member is difficult to be        mechanical-automatically polished and punched during the        production processes, the polishing is manually operated and the        holes requires to be manually drilled, these processes require a        worker to have a high proficiency, otherwise a poorer quality, a        high defective rate, a long processing time will happen, and a        demand for additional manual inspection will increase the cost;    -   5) the whole production process has many steps leading to a long        production cycle and requires many production apparatuses        resulting in a large production area;    -   6) it is necessary to cut the material of a larger size        gradually into ones of a smaller size because of the need to        produce a variety of specifications of products, which results        in a waste of material; and    -   7) the load-bearing capacity of the tubular structure of the        load-bearing member is poorer, which is easily deformed and        leads to a production difficulty during the production process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an automobile C-type chute side-bar pedalwhich can be adapted to a variety of different types of cars to enablethe side-bar pedal to have versatility and extremely high anti-pressureability.

The present invention also provides an automobile C-type chute side-barpedal and the production processes of the same to reduce the side barpedal production management, storage and transportation costs, avoidproblems like material mixing etc., shorten the production cycle, reducepollution and improve the product quality.

To this end, the present invention employs the following technicalsolutions:

-   -   an automobile C-type chute side-bar pedal includes a        load-bearing member and an anti-slide member mounted onto an        upper surface of the load-bearing member;    -   the cross section of the load-bearing member is a downwardly        opened C-type structure which is formed into a curved face        structure integrally, and two inner sides of the load-bearing        member are provided with a slide rail which is an upwardly        opened C-type chute structure;    -   the automobile C-type chute side-bar pedal further includes a        slide block located within the load-bearing member and provided        with a recess which may slide along the slide rail, a lower end        of which is provided with a mounting member connected with a        car; and two end portions of the load-bearing member are        provided with a sealing structure fixed from the inner side of        the load-bearing member.

The anti-slide member, a lower surface of which fits the upper surfaceof the load-bearing member, is formed of a plastic material, and isprovided with a mounting post mating with mounting holes of theload-bearing member and protruding into the interior of the load-bearingmember, so as to snap-fit said anti-slide member into said load-bearingmember.

The upper surface of the anti-slide member is a planar structure withanti-slide pattern, wherein two sides of the cross section arerespectively provided with a flap whose lower surface is closely againstthe upper surface of the load-bearing member and extends towards bothsides respectively.

The slide block is formed of a metal or plastic material, and has ahollow and integral structure, wherein a stiffener used to support upperand lower ends is disposed on a central portion thereof; an outersurface of the slide block fits an inner surface of the load-bearingmember; the slide block is provided with an vacancy avoiding trough toavoid the mounting post and the mounting part at the lower end of theslide block is a rivet nut.

The anti-slide member has two or three mounting posts in the same crosssection, and the corresponding slide block has several vacancy avoidingtroughs.

The slide rail and the load-bearing member both are formed of stainlesssteel materials and formed into an integral structure.

The sealing structure includes a connecting piece and a sealing cover;the sealing cover is fixed with the connecting piece from the inner sideof the load-bearing member via a screw; the connecting piece is formedof a metal material, which fits the inner surface of the load-bearingmember, and the sealing cover is formed of a plastic or metal materialand is provided with a boss protruding into the interior of theload-bearing member, wherein the boss fits the inner surface of theload-bearing member.

The connecting piece is provided with two mounting portions which arefixed to the outer side of the slide rail via screws respectively.

The connecting piece is provided with two mounting portions which arefixed via screws to the inner side of the slide rail respectively, andthe connecting pieces is disposed at the recess mating with the sliderail.

The production process of the automobile C-type chute side-bar pedalincludes the following steps:

-   -   a) performing automated-surface grinding, polishing and filming        to a stainless steel band;    -   b) cutting said stainless steel band with a shearing machine;    -   c) processing mounting holes and screw holes of said connecting        piece with a punch;    -   d) using a bending machine to bent said stainless steel band        into the final shape of said load-bearing member;    -   e) assembling said sliding block to said load-bearing member;    -   f) using said screw to fix said connecting piece to said        load-bearing member;    -   g) using said screw to connect said sealing cover and said        connecting piece from inside of said load-bearing member; and    -   h) removing a protective film, mounting said anti-slide member        and packaging a finished product.

The present invention can be adapted to a variety of different types ofcars by above structures and production processes to enable the side-barpedal to have versatility and extremely high anti-pressure capability,reduce the side bar pedal production management, storage andtransportation costs, avoid problems like materials mixing, shorten theproduction cycle, alleviate pollution and improve product quality.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the structure in accordance with anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of the structure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic view along A-A of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the structure of a connection piece inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the structure of a connection piece inaccordance with another embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of a sealing cover inaccordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Wherein, reference numerals set forth in the Drawings include referenceto the following elements:

 1: load-bearing member 101: slide rail  2: anti-slide member 201:mounting post 202: flap  3: slide block 301: recess 302: stiffener 303:vacancy avoiding trough 304: rivet nut  4: connecting piece 401:mounting portion  5: sealing cover 501: boss

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The technical scheme of the present invention will be further describedby embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the automobile C-type chute side-bar pedalincludes a load-bearing member 1 and an anti-slide member 2 mounted ontothe upper surface of the load-bearing member 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cross section of the load-bearing member 1 is adownwardly opened C-type structure which is formed into a curved facestructure integrally, and two inner sides of the load-bearing member 1are provided with a slide rail 101 which is an upwardly opened C-typechute structure.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the automobile C-type chute side-barpedal further includes a slide block 3 located within the load-bearingmember 1 and provided with a recess 301 which may slide along the sliderail 101, a lower end of which is provided with a mounting memberconnected with a car.

As shown in FIG. 2, two end portions of the load-bearing member 1 areprovided with a sealing structure fixed from the inner side of theload-bearing member 1.

The slide rail 101 has the following functions: 1) two slide blocks 3may slide in the load-bearing member 1 along the direction of the sliderail 101 by using the mating between the recess 301 and the slide rail101, and the distance between two slide blocks 3 can be adjusted asdesired such that the side bar pedal is compatible with a variety ofdifferent mounting dimensions of the structures, thus havingversatility; 2) the slide rail 101 acts as a stiffener which enables theoverall structure of the side bar pedal to be firmer; 3) two sides ofthe load-bearing member 1 tend to open when the load-bearing memberreceives a downward pressure, while the slide rail 101 receives apulling force from the slide block 3 to prevent the deformation of theload-bearing member 1 which obtains a better bearing capacity during theuse of the side bar pedal. According to inspiration drawn form bionics,the load-bearing member 1 substantially has an upward arch curvedstructure having a good anti-pressure capacity as a tortoise shell does,so as to increase anti-pressure strength. The load-bearing member 1molded by bending a metal steel plate integrally reduces the processesof welding, coarse grinding and polishing of the existing steel tubeforming technologies, thus shortening production cycle, and reducingprocess steps, and further avoiding the problems of scratching themetallic appearance of the material.

The recess 301 is used to mate with the slide rail 101 of theload-bearing member 1 so as to enable the slide block 3 to move freelyin the interior of the load-bearing member 1. When the mounting memberis fixed to the car, the load-bearing member 1 and the sliding block 3are also locked simultaneously while the sliding block 3 is fixedimmovably.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the anti-slide member 2, a lower surfaceof which fits the upper surface of the load-bearing member 1, is formedof a plastic material, and is provided with a mounting post 201 matingwith mounting holes of the load-bearing member 1 and protruding into theinterior of the load-bearing member 201, with which the anti-slidemember 2 is snap-fitted into the load-bearing member 1 to achieve thefunction of fixation.

As shown in FIG. 3, the structure of the anti-slide member 2 fittingwith the load-bearing member 1 enables the structure to be more stable.The design of the mounting post 201 allows the mounting of theanti-slide member 2 to be more convenient while has a good stability.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface of the anti-slide member 2 is aplanar structure with anti-slide pattern, wherein two sides of the crosssection are respectively provided with a flap 202 whose lower surface isclosely against the upper surface of the load-bearing member 1 andextends towards both sides respectively.

The upper surface of the horizontal plane of the anti-slide member 2 isconvenient for people standing thereon when they get on and off and theanti-slide pattern thereon increases friction force, in addition, theflap 202 enables the structures of the anti-slide member 2 and theload-bearing member 1 to be more compact.

As shown in FIG. 3, the slide block 3 is formed of a metal or plasticmaterial, and has a hollow and integral structure, wherein a stiffener302 used to support upper and lower ends is disposed on a centralportion thereof; an outer surface of the slide block 3 fits the innersurface of the load-bearing member 1; the slide block 3 is provided withan vacancy avoiding trough 303 to avoid the mounting post 201; themounting part at the lower end of the slide block 3 is a rivet nut 304.

The hollow structure reduces the weight of the slide block 3 and thestiffener 302 allows the slide block 3 to have sufficient bearingstrength to decrease the deformation when the load-bearing member 1 issubjected to a downward press force; moreover, the stiffener 302 is ableto decrease the deformation of the slide block 3 caused by an externalforce from the pulling force of the screw. The vacancy avoiding trough303 is designed to avoid the anti-slide member 2, so that the slideblock 3 passes through the anti-slide member 2 smoothly. The design ofthe slide block 3 fitting with the load-bearing member 1 is able toreduce the deformation of the load-bearing member 1 caused by a force,and the structure of the sliding block 3 is the same as that of theload-bearing member 1 which substantially has an upward arch curved facewith a high pressure bearing property, the structure maintainsnon-deformed under the press of a specific external force, thusmaintaining the integrity of the slide block 3 and the stability of thewhole product quality, so as to achieve the effect of protecting thecar.

As shown in FIG. 3, the anti-slide member 2 has two or three mountingposts 201 in the same cross section, and the corresponding slide block 3has several vacancy avoiding troughs 303.

The slide rail 101 and the load-bearing member 1 both are formed ofstainless steel materials and formed into an integral structure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sealing structure includes a connecting piece 4and a sealing cover 5; the sealing cover 5 is fixed with the connectingpiece 4 from the inner side of the load-bearing member 1 via a screw;wherein the connecting piece 4 is formed of a metal material and fitsthe inner surface of the load-bearing member 1, and the sealing cover 5is formed of a plastic or metal material. As shown in FIG. 6, thesealing cover 5 is provided with a boss 501 protruding into the interiorof the load-bearing member 1, wherein the boss 501 fits the innersurface of the load-bearing member 1.

Such sealing structure reduces the welding, grinding, polishing, etc.processes of the existing welding technologies, which reduces pollutionand is easy to be assembled. The connecting piece 4 supports theload-bearing member 1 from the interior to increase the anti-pressurestrength of the load-bearing member 1. The boss 501 is designed to haveseveral fixed sealing covers 5 which are not easy to fall off and deformto roll outward.

As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting piece 4 is provided with two mountingportions 401 which are fixed to the outer side of the slide rail 101 viascrews respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting piece 4 is provided with two mountingportions 401 which are fixed via screws to the inner side of the sliderail 101 respectively, and the connecting pieces 4 is disposed at therecess mating with the slide rail 101. The mounting portions 401 arefixed to the slide rail 101 respectively so as to tense inwardly whenthe load-bearing member 1 is deformed under a force, which reduces thedeformation of the load-bearing member 1.

The production process of the automobile C-type chute side-bar pedalincludes the following steps:

-   -   a) performing automated-surface grinding, polishing and filming        to a stainless steel band;    -   b) cutting said stainless steel band with a shearing machine;    -   c) processing mounting holes and screw holes of said connecting        piece with a punch;    -   d) using a bending machine to bent said stainless steel band        into the final shape of said load-bearing member 1;    -   e) assembling said sliding block 3 to said load-bearing member        1;    -   f) using said screw to fix said connecting piece 4 to said        load-bearing member 1;    -   g) using said screw to connect said sealing cover 5 and said        connecting piece 4 from inside of said load-bearing member; and    -   h) removing a protective film, mounting said anti-slide member 2        and packaging the finished product.

The present invention has the following advantages through the aboveproduction process:

-   -   1) since the load-bearing member is of the C-type opening        structure which has no need of the processes of tube-making and        sealing, the semi-automatic production can be achieved via        general apparatuses such as the punch and the bending machine,        thereby reducing the problems of high defective rate caused by        the manual operation, decreasing machining processes and        shortening the production cycle;    -   2) the bending machine can be adjusted as desired, namely, it        can be used to produce the different types of products to reduce        equipment costs;    -   3) since the material surface is processed by grinding,        polishing and filming during the material is in a state of steel        band, so the planar steel band can be machined by a general        surface processing machinery which allows the surface brightness        of the products to be high and uniform in a high efficiency        manner, moreover, the filming process can protect the steel band        surface from being scratched during the subsequent production        processes.    -   4) the structure of a C-type opening is easy to be located and        can be punched with a plurality of the holes at a time, wherein        the hole sizes and the spacing between the holes are        standardized; cutting sizes are unified generally to reduce        management costs, and two ends of the cutting edges are smooth,        which eliminates the steps of grinding and polishing after two        ends being welded;    -   5) because of the benefits of the centralization, simplification        and mechanization of production processes, dust pollution can be        effectively controlled and reduced so as to ensure environment        clean;    -   6) on the other hand, due to the versatility of the product, the        product of the same size and model can be used to a variety of        cars, thus significantly reducing the amount of product        inventory, saving the waste materials produced during material        cutting, reducing the costs of the production management and        warehouse, and reducing the required fund by several times and        reducing business risk.

The technical principle of the present invention is described withreference to specific embodiments. Therefore the description is aimed atexplaining the principle of the present invention and should not beconstrued in any way as limiting the scope of the present invention.Based on the explanation hereinabove, those skilled in the art canconceive of other embodiments without creative work, all embodiments areintended to be fallen into the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An automobile C-type chute side-bar pedalcomprising a load-bearing member and an anti-slide member mounted ontoan upper surface of said load-bearing member, wherein, a cross sectionof said load-bearing member is a downwardly opened C-type structurewhich is formed into a curved face structure integrally, and two innersides of said load-bearing member are provided with slide rail which isan upwardly opened C-type chute structure; said automobile C-type chuteside-bar pedal further comprises a slide block located within saidload-bearing member and provided with a recess which may slide alongsaid slide rail, wherein a lower end of which is provided with amounting member connected with a car; and two end portions of saidload-bearing member are provided with a sealing structure fixed fromsaid inner side of said load-bearing member.
 2. The automobile C-typechute side bar pedal of claim 1, wherein said anti-slide member, a lowersurface of which fits said upper surface of said load-bearing member, isformed of a plastic material, and is provided with a mounting postmating with mounting holes of said load-bearing member and protrudinginto interior of said load-bearing member, so as to snap-fit saidanti-slide member into said load-bearing member.
 3. The automobileC-type chute side bar pedal of claim 1, wherein said upper surface ofsaid anti-slide member is a planar structure with anti-slide pattern,wherein two sides of said cross section are respectively provided with aflap whose lower surface is closely against said upper surface of saidload-bearing member and extends towards both sides respectively.
 4. Theautomobile C-type chute side bar pedal of claim 2, wherein said slideblock is formed of a metal or plastic material, and has a hollow andintegral structure, wherein a stiffener used to support upper and lowerends is disposed on a central portion thereof; an outer surface of saidslide block fits an inner surface of said load-bearing member; saidslide block is provided with an vacancy avoiding trough to avoid saidmounting post and the mounting part at said lower end of said slideblock is a rivet nut.
 5. The automobile C-type chute side bar pedal ofclaim 4, wherein said anti-slide member has two or three mounting postsat said same cross section, and said corresponding slide block hasseveral vacancy avoiding troughs.
 6. The automobile C-type chute sidebar pedal of claim 1, wherein said slide rail and said load-bearingmember both are formed of stainless steel materials and into saidintegral structure.
 7. The automobile C-type chute side bar pedal ofclaim 1, wherein said sealing structure comprises a connecting piece anda sealing cover; said sealing cover is fixed with said connecting piecefrom said inner side of said load-bearing member via a screw; saidconnecting piece is formed of a metal material, which fits said innersurface of said load-bearing member, and said sealing cover is formed ofa plastic or metal material and is provided with a boss protruding intointerior of said load-bearing member, wherein said boss fits said innersurface of said load-bearing member.
 8. The automobile C-type chute sidebar pedal of claim 7, wherein said connecting piece is provided with twomounting portions which are fixed to said outer side of said slide railvia screws respectively.
 9. The automobile C-type chute side bar pedalof claim 7, wherein said connecting piece is provided with two mountingportions which are fixed via screws to said inner side of said sliderail respectively, and said connecting pieces are disposed at saidrecess mating with said slide rail.
 10. A production process of anautomobile C-type chute side-bar pedal, wherein the automobile C-typechute side bar pedal comprises: a load-bearing member and an anti-slidemember mounted onto an upper surface of said load-bearing member,wherein, a cross section of said load-bearing member is a downwardlyopened C-type structure which is formed into a curved face structureintegrally, and two inner sides of said load-bearing member are providedwith slide rail which is an upwardly opened C-type chute structure; saidautomobile C-type chute side-bar pedal further comprises a slide blocklocated within said load-bearing member and provided with a recess whichmay slide along said slide rail, wherein a lower end of which isprovided with a mounting member connected with a car; and two endportions of said load-bearing member are provided with a sealingstructure fixed from said inner side of said load-bearing member,wherein the production process comprises steps of: a) performingautomated-surface grinding, polishing and filming to a stainless steelband; b) cutting said stainless steel band with a shearing machine; c)processing mounting holes and screw holes of said connecting piece witha punch; d) using a bending machine to bent said stainless steel bandinto the final shape of said load-bearing member; e) assembling saidsliding block to said load-bearing member; f) using said screw to fixsaid connecting piece to said load-bearing member; g) using said screwto connect said sealing cover and said connecting piece from inside ofsaid load-bearing member; and h) removing a protective film, mountingsaid anti-slide member and packaging a finished product.
 11. Theproduction process of claim 10, wherein said anti-slide member, a lowersurface of which fits said upper surface of said load-bearing member, isformed of a plastic material, and is provided with a mounting postmating with mounting holes of said load-bearing member and protrudinginto interior of said load-bearing member, so as to snap-fit saidanti-slide member into said load-bearing member.
 12. The productionprocess of claim 10, wherein said upper surface of said anti-slidemember is a planar structure with anti-slide pattern, wherein two sidesof said cross section are respectively provided with a flap whose lowersurface is closely against said upper surface of said load-bearingmember and extends towards both sides respectively.
 13. The productionprocess of claim 11, wherein said slide block is formed of a metal orplastic material, and has a hollow and integral structure, wherein astiffener used to support upper and lower ends is disposed on a centralportion thereof; an outer surface of said slide block fits an innersurface of said load-bearing member; said slide block is provided withan vacancy avoiding trough to avoid said mounting post and the mountingpart at said lower end of said slide block is a rivet nut.
 14. Theproduction process of claim 13, wherein said anti-slide member has twoor three mounting posts at said same cross section, and saidcorresponding slide block has several vacancy avoiding troughs.
 15. Theproduction process of claim 10, wherein said slide rail and saidload-bearing member both are formed of stainless steel materials andinto said integral structure.
 16. The production process of claim 10,wherein said sealing structure comprises a connecting piece and asealing cover; said sealing cover is fixed with said connecting piecefrom said inner side of said load-bearing member via a screw; saidconnecting piece is formed of a metal material, which fits said innersurface of said load-bearing member, and said sealing cover is formed ofa plastic or metal material and is provided with a boss protruding intointerior of said load-bearing member, wherein said boss fits said innersurface of said load-bearing member.
 17. The production process of claim16, wherein said connecting piece is provided with two mounting portionswhich are fixed to said outer side of said slide rail via screwsrespectively.
 18. The production process of claim 16, wherein saidconnecting piece is provided with two mounting portions which are fixedvia screws to said inner side of said slide rail respectively, and saidconnecting pieces are disposed at said recess mating with said sliderail.